Losing The Future
by The White Shell Mermaid
Summary: Years after the end of season six, Musa and Riven move into their new house. They never expected their new neighbors to be old enemies who have finally grown up and turned to the light, or for those old enemies to become friends. But most of all they never expected Earth's zombie apocalypse theory to become reality or to be running from the city as society crumbles around them.
1. Chapter 1

**Losing the Future**

 **Chapter 1: New Neighbors**

Musa and Riven had just moved into an average sized house in an average sized neighbourhood on the west side Magix city. It was perfect as far as Musa was concerned. It had three bedrooms - one for her and Riven, one for her to use as a recording studio and one spare. There was a big fireplace for when it got cold and a vegetable garden out back - believe it or not, Riven had a bit of a green thumb.

The neighbourhood itself wasn't too close to the downtown, so it was pretty quiet, for a city at least, and there were a few trees dotted around.

It was nice. Really nice.

They had arrived late last night and the moving van had yet to arrive with their things, so Musa had headed down to the nearest coffee shop to get breakfast.

She was on her way back now, enjoying the peaceful morning as she went. She smiled as she spotted three young kids, a girl and two identical boys, playing in the yard in front of a duplex. The girl, who looked a little older than her companions, had long dark hair and eyes the color of a blue jay's feathers. The identical twins had curly black hair and dark eyes. As she watched, the kids started arguing and snatching a certain toy from each other. Soon they were on top of each other, wrestling in a playful manner.

Musa was almost passed the place when the door on the right side of duplex opened to reveal a disturbingly familiar brunette woman with amber eyes.

"Kids!" She called. "That's enough!"

The children stopped right away and moved to sit in a row facing the woman. Musa had to raise an eyebrow at their obedience.

"We's sowy aunt Darcy." One of the boys spoke up.

Musa's jaw dropped. _Darcy?_ Surly she'd heard wrong! That was impossible! Right?

"We's was just pwaying." The other boy said. "We wasn't being mean!"

The little girl got up and ran up to Darcy. "Mama! Can I's come inside and see Dusky?"

"Of course you can honey." The woman smiled, before turning back to the boys. She pointed to fingers at her eyes and flipped her hand to point them at the twins in an 'I'm watching you' motion.

"Be good you two!" She warned.

The boys agreed and went back to playing, and the woman, Darcy, followed the little girl back inside, closing the door behind them. Musa was about to continue, when the door on the _left_ side opened and another woman, obviously pregnant and with curly purple hair pulled up in a high ponytail and teal eyes appeared.

"Boys!" She called. "Time to come in and get cleaned up before your cousins get here!" She called.

The twins seemed to consider this before jumping up and running to their mother. "Are they's gonna be here soon?" One of them questioned.

"You bet! That's why you have to come in and get ready." Their mother replied.

The boys ran inside and their mother pulled the door closed, staring straight at Musa as she did.

At this point Musa's jaw had damn near hit the ground. Not only were the trix somehow returned from the legendarium world, but they had kids? _My Dragon! What is this world coming to?_ She hurriedly continued down the sidewalk back towards her new house. _And they're our neighbours! How ironic!_

 **o0o**

Later that day, after the moving van had arrived and they'd unpacked their meager belongings, Musa was crouched at one of the bedroom windows. She was watching the duplex across the street like a hawk. It seemed to be a busy place that day. The 'cousins' that were coming turned out to be Icy, a guy Musa could have sworn was Tritannus and two little girls. The girls and the three other kids were running around the house, full of energy and excited to see each other.

As she continued to watch a car pulled up and two guys got out, one that Musa didn't recognize and one that was none other than Jared, a guy from Red Fountain who'd had a crush on her back in her first year.

The kids came running around the side of the house and upon seeing them, they ran up and crowded around them, squealing with excitement.

"Musa? What are you doing in here?"

She whipped around in surprise, the binoculars she was holding disappearing in a flash of magic. "Riven! I was just, uh, checking out the view!"

"Really? Cause I could have sworn you were creeping on our new neighbours." He raised an eyebrow.

"That's ridiculous." She said, but she didn't sound to convincing.

"What's the matter with you?" Riven asked. " Do you have a problem with them _already_?"

"Ugh. . . lets just say we're old acquaintances that. . . Didn't exactly hit it off." Musa replied.

"Seriously? Do I know them?" He questioned.

"Uh-"

"Only all to well." A new voice interrupted.

They both turned, their eyes wide. For there, standing in the doorway was none other than Darcy, with the little girl Musa had seen earlier by her side. Her hair was no longer ankle length, but hung down to her waist instead, she still dressed in purples and blacks and she still wore glasses similar to the ones Musa remembered seeing her with years ago.

"What the Hell!?" Riven exclaimed, shocked.

"Raven and I noticed you were spying on us."she said calmly. "We decided to drop by and welcome you to the neighbourhood."

"I'm sure you did." Riven growled lowly.

"Oh, Relax." Darcy said. "I didn't come to hurt you. If I did, I wouldn't have brought Raven."

"So. . . Why are you here?" Musa questioned carefully.

"As I said - to welcome you."

"Right." Riven scoffed.

"Believe it or not, we've changed. We're not in the business of world domination anymore." She smirked. "I hope we can co-exist here. Civilly."

"We'll see." Riven growled.

"Good." She turned to Musa. "And do try to refrain from spying on us, dear. It's creepy."

Musa blushed. "I'll try."

Satisfied, Darcy took a step back. "Now, if you'll excuse us, we have company."

She was about to teleport out, but stopped. "Oh, and Riven? Do watch your language around my daughter."

And then they were gone.

 **o0o**

Musa couldn't help herself. She was just so paranoid that the neighbouring witches were planning something, and who could blame her? She'd spent six years of her life fighting them.

That was why she was crouched on the bedroom floor, peaking through the blinds with her binoculars, once again spying on their neighbours. She hadn't actually _seen_ anything of concern yet, but still. She needed to be sure, so she kept checking. That was probably why Riven claimed to have seen Darcy spying on _them_ from her upstairs window. She was getting back at them.

So Musa kept watching. This gave Darcy the bright idea to give her something to watch, so she got Stormy in on her plans.

And then, it was no longer neighbours being weird and spying on each other.

Musa thought the two witch sisters were being childish when they started sending enchanted paper airplanes into their windows. They made annoying plonking sounds when they made contact with the glass, while a select few would sail straight through the glass and into the room.

These ones usually had notes on them. One had a cute photo of Darcy's baby, Dusk. Musa didn't know why.

Riven then decided that if the witches were going to mess with them, then he would mess with the witches, so one day after work he sent his own enchanted paper plane to them with a very _special_ note in it.

He told them Bloom was moving in next door with Sky.

The next morning when they woke up, there was a dead rabbit on their doorstep that looked suspiciously like Kiko.

Musa had to hand it to them. If she was to be completely honest, she had never liked Bloom's rabbit. He was annoying, and she thought it was creepy when he tried to act human.

After that, Riven decided to step it up a notch. He went over there in the night and rigged up a bucket of water over Darcy's front door that would fall on whoever opened it first. Musa just hoped it wasn't one of the kids. Luckily it wasn't.

Darcy's partner Don was the victim of that one.

This prompted Darcy to sneak into their house and steal all their light bulbs. Needless to say it was a very dark night.

The next morning however, the oak tree in their backyard was ready for Christmas.

It kept going back and forth like that until some of their other neighbours got wind of it and tried to shut it down. That only resulted in them getting tangled in it to. A few teamed up with Musa and Riven, a couple sided with the witches and some took sides of their own.

And then things really got crazy.

Riven 'borrowed' the battery from Jared's car, so Stormy, who couldn't use her own magic because she was pregnant, brewed some random, harmless potions in her front yard, just to freak the others out.

After that, some guy from a few houses down left an old newspaper (from when the trix were starting wars) in the witches' front yard, like dredging up the past was a good idea. Darcy got _him_ back good.

Then, a fairy with a passion for pranks, gave the kids fake fairy wings and put levitation spells on them.

Yeah, bad move on her part. Darcy sent her some nasty nightmares that night, as a thank-you gift.

Someone, Musa had a sneaking suspicion it was Riven, put a 'for rent' sign up in front of the Witches' duplex, which was promptly turned into a burning effigy and left in place of their mailbox.

Musa sighed as she walked down the path to the sidewalk. When she got there, she waved her hand and the effigy disappeared, leaving the mailbox in its place. She looked around with her eyes narrowed. Suddenly Darcy appeared out of nowhere.

"About time." She smirked.

Musa rolled her eyes. "we are so childish. Starting a neighbourhood prank war like this."

"Hey. You started it, not us." Darcy replied.

"I was paranoid you guys were planning something!"

"And I warned you to stop spying." She pointed out.

"You say you're not childish, but your plan was to throw paper planes at my house if I didn't stop." Musa said.

"That was Stormy's idea, I swear!" Darcy exclaimed.

"Uh huh. Then why was there a picture of Dusk in one of them?"

"Just to confuse you."

"Heh, well, I put it on my fridge." Musa smirked.

"Of course you did."

Musa shrugged. "she's a cute kid. Even Riven thinks so."

"If you think she's so cute, I'll get you to babysit her sometime."

 **Thanks for reading! Hoped you liked it, and please review, I'd love to know what you think!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Losing the Future**

 **Thank you for the reviews, follows and favourites!**

 **Chapter 2: The Infected**

Several weeks had passed since Musa and Riven had moved into their new house. Peace had been made with the witches and they could even be considered as something of friends now.

It was a rather gloomy day that day. Heavy grey clouds hung over the city, threatening rain. A cold breeze blew. Musa couldn't shake the feeling that something seemed. . . Off.

Musa sighed as she placed the third peanut-butter and jam sandwich on a plate. She worked from home, so Stormy and Darcy had made her their official baby-sitter.

On this particular day, Stormy was gone to a doctors appointment and Darcy had to go to the potions shop her and Don owned. Don was running the shop and Jared, along with Riven, were professors at Red Fountain. This left Musa to watch the kids until either Stormy or Darcy returned.

She levitated the three sandwiches and was about to take them to the kids, who were currently in the living room, playing with some toys they'd brought and entertaining baby Dusk. She stopped when something caught her attention on the radio playing in the background.

" _Now. Onto another matter. The infected. The number of sightings are rising by the hour, both in the city itself and the surrounding area. They are known to be both extremely hostile and unrelenting. Officials suggest to stay inside and keep doors and windows locked, as they seem to venturing further into the city. We will be reporting more on this matter later."_ The reporter said.

This was beginning to worry Musa. For days now, there had been reports of disfigured people, mostly around the outskirts of the city, who would attack others on sight. They had been dubbed 'the infected' because they seemed to infect whoever they attacked with whatever strange disease they had. The officials kept claiming it was under control, but apparently they were just saying that to keep the pubic calm, because the situation seemed to be escalating. Rapidly. Musa was starting to wonder whether there was truth to the Earth theory about the 'zombie' apocalypse. Huh. Maybe. . .

The whirring engines of an airship outside pulled her from her thoughts. She walked over to the window and looked out, expecting to see a Red Fountain aircraft, which wasn't that uncommon a sight over the city.

 _What? That's a military airship! If the government is sending in the military, how bad is it, really?_

Now she was really concerned. She quickly took the sandwiches to the kids, before pulling out her phone and calling Riven. He didn't answer. Musa wasn't surprised, as he was probably busy, so she left him a message instead, asking if he knew anything.

Suddenly there was a distant bang and the ground shook. The kids started screaming, Dusk was wailing and Musa herself was panicking as she ran back into the living room. She picked up Dusk and tried to sooth the other three.

When she heard voices outside she told them to wait where they were, while she took Dusk and tried to figure out what was going on. Outside, her neighbours stood in the street also panicked.

"What _was_ that? Someone questioned.

"An explosion in the city centre!" Someone else exclaimed

"They've lied! The situation isn't under control! It's out of hand!" A man yelled.

"Are we at war?" The fairy from next door wondered.

"Fools! All of you! Get your asses inside before the infected get you!" A guy suggested from his window.

Another bang and the ground shook again. Musa turned tail and ran back inside. She gathered the scared kids and took them to the basement.

"I want mummy. Where's mummy? Jaxon cried.

"Musa, I'm scared. What's happening?" Raven questioned.

Jace stared at her with big eyes. "Mummy." He whimpered.

"It's okay. It'll be okay." Musa assured.

She pulled out her phone and dialled Stormy's number. She let it ring several times before she hung up. _Shit!_ She was about to try Darcy, when she heard the front door open and close.

"Musa!" Someone called.

 _Thank the dragon!_ It was Darcy, and she wasn't the only one who new that. Raven ran to the bottom of the stairs and called out to her.

"Muma! We're down here!"

Footsteps thumped across the floor and the basement door opened. Musa almost fainted from relief when she saw Darcy and Don run down the stairs.

They hugged Raven as Dusk reached out to them. Darcy came over and took her, relief clear on her face.

"It was smart to bring them down here." She said. "Stormy's not back yet?"

"No. I tried to call her, but she didn't pick up." Musa replied.

"Curses! Her Doctor's office if right downtown! I have to go find her!"

"Darcy-" Don started.

"She's defenceless Don! Right in the middle of this mess!" She exclaimed.

Before anyone could stop her she was gone.

 **o0o**

She was calling Stormy's name before she had even completely materialized. When her vision steadied she saw people everywhere. Some infected. Most not. A few in the process of being infected. Downtown Magix was chaos, and not just because of the infected. There were crazed military officials everywhere, firing blindly. Darcy wasn't sure if they were hexed and she didn't bother to find out.

She jumped off the ground and levitated above the crowds, frantically scanning for her sister. _Oh Dragon. I'll never find her like this._

She focused her energy and tried a psychic probe of the area, searching for a familiar presence. That was easier said than done, considering the amount of people out in the streets. She flew over the crowd, probing the whole time. Just as she picked up what she was looking for, glass shattered nearby as someone was thrown into it. She turned just in time to see a man go flying into a shop window and Stormy stumble back into the wall as a couple of the infected lashed out at her.

Darcy's eyes darkened as she hissed a spell under her breath and fired it at her sister's attackers.

It hit them square on but had no effect.

"You have got to be joking." Darcy growled. "Alrighty then. You asked for it."

She shoved her magic aside and focused her mind. Many people had mistaken telekinesis for magic, but Darcy new better. She wasn't just the witch of darkness, she was psychic too. She didn't even flinch as she through the two infected people to the side, where they landed in a heap. She then teleported out of the sky and appeared beside her little sister.

"Darcy!" She gasped in relief.

Darcy eyed the infected people, who had gotten back up and were now going at other people.

"Let's bounce." She said. She took Stormy's hand and they both disappeared.

Darcy new the dangers of teleporting during pregnancy. She new that most doctors strictly forbade it. But she also knew that now, they could either take the risk, or die because they didn't.

When they materialized in Musa's basement, Stormy stumbled forward right into Don, who grabbed her by the shoulders to steady her. He eyed his wife, who's calm demeanour had returned.

"I thought you said teleporting was strictly off limits for pregnant women?"

"It is." Darcy replied. "But it was a life or death situation."

She turned to Stormy. "Are you okay?" She had to check.

Stormy nodded, although she looked like she might be sick.

Musa wasted no time in conjuring a bucket. "Over here, Stormy."

The witch hastily grabbed the bucket from Musa and turned to face the wall, where she stuffed her face into it and promptly puked her guts out. When she was finished she turned to her sister.

"Please, don't do that again." She begged.

"I'll try not to, but considering what's going on out there right now, there will be no promises." Darcy replied.

Stormy groaned. "Actually though. What _is_ going on out there?"

"You got me." Said Don. "Definitely has something to do with the infected though."

"Huh. I think that Earth theory is coming true." Musa thought out loud.

"What Earth theory?" Stormy asked.

"Ok, so maybe it's more of some weird idea someone came up with, but basically there's an apocalypse and the world ends up over run with these zombie-like creatures. The government falls apart and it's every person or group of people for themselves. They have all these shows and movies about it on earth. Bloom introduced us to some of them." Musa explained.

Stormy rubbed her temples. "I had to ask, didn't I?"

Musa shrugged. "I'm just saying it as it is. If I'm half right, we could be in real trouble."

"Ok. Enough theorizing. Does anyone have a plan? Half a plan?" Don spoke up.

"I don't know about you guys but I'm gonna hang down here until at least tomorrow. Then go up and analyze the situation." Musa announced. "And also try and contact Riven. . ."

She pulled out her phone and scrolled through her contacts.

"I vote for Musa's idea." Darcy stated.

Don agreed and so did Stormy, so a campout in the basement it was. Musa tried to contact Riven again but he didn't answer, so she suggested Stormy try Jared. He picked up on the second ring.

" _Stormy! I've been trying to call you for the past hour! Are you ok?_ "

"I'm fine. Darcy saved my hide, but you can thank her later."

" _Thank the Dragon. I was so worried. Where are you now?"_

"In Musa's basement, with her, Darcy, Don and the kids."

" _Stay there. Don't go outside. You'll all be safe there. For now."_

"Jared, what's really going on? Do you know?"

" _To be honest, not really. We pulled our guys out hours ago. They said downtown Magix was a bloodbath and that there was nothing we could do to stop it without getting massacred ourselves. The Military was called in, but I'm willing to bet they're spelled. They were acting completely crazed. Anyways, Red Fountain is on lockdown, as is Alfea and Cloud Tower. No one is allowed to leave, not even us professors, so Riven and I are spending the night. If we can we'll meet you all at Musa's in the morning."_

"Ok. Wait, you think the military are spelled?"

" _From what I saw, I'd say there's a good possibility-"_

"But that would mean someone planned this. . ."

" _A higher power that somehow infiltrated the government. It could have been happening behind our backs for months."_

"An attack from another realm maybe?"

" _I don't think so - oh, ugh I have to go. Emergency staff meeting. Tell Musa, Riven is safe, ok? I love you. You'll see me again, I promise."_

"I will. I love you too. Goodbye."

They hung up and Stormy put her phone away. As she turned to the others, Musa spoke up.

"What did he say?"

"He told me to tell you Riven is safe, but he doesn't really know much more than we do." Said Stormy. "They pulled their guys out because their efforts were fruitless. Red fountain and the other schools are on lockdown, so they're both stuck there until morning at least. They're going to try and meet us here in the morning though."

She then turned to Darcy. "Did you notice anything weird about the military guys when we were downtown?"

"Define weird." She said.

"He thinks they might be spelled."

"Yeah, I was wondering that myself, but I didn't take the time to find out." Darcy agreed. "You know what that could mean, right?"

The others nodded grimly. If they _were_ under a spell, someone was behind this, and that someone was also behind the infected. But who? And why?

 **Thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and please review! I love to hear what you think!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Losing the Future**

 **Chapter 3: City Of Broken Dreams**

Lucky for them, they had magic. That meant they didn't have to go up to the kitchen to cook supper. Instead, Musa summoned the leftovers she had in the fridge, and they ate it cold whilst sitting on the basement floor. It wasn't ideal. But it wasn't like anything would really be _ideal_ anymore. It was better than nothing. After that, they sat in silence, mulling over the whole crisis in their minds, while the kids played with the toys Darcy had summoned from the living room, unaware of the impending doom.

At some point, as the evening dragged on and the kids started to grow sleepy, Musa got up and walked over to a box against the far wall, where she pulled out a couple of sleeping bags and tossed them across the room.

"Please don't tell me that's all you've got." Said Stormy.

"We'll have to go upstairs to get more." Musa replied. "Who wants to come?"

Darcy stood up, and the two headed up the stairs. It was dark. Dark enough that they couldn't see the dazed figures standing waywardly in the street. They could however, hear the strange sounds outside. Musa wished she couldn't. She didn't want the taste of what they would find in the morning. She was still hoping this was all a cruel nightmare.

"If this were a nightmare, I would know." Darcy whispered darkly in her ear, making her jump.

"You love peeking into other people's minds, don't you?" She whispered back.

She grinned, although Musa couldn't see it in the dark. "You have no idea."

Musa rolled her eyes. "Ok, this way." She lead the way up the stairs to the second floor.

They went into the bedrooms and pulled the bedding off the beds, before gathering more pillows and blankets from the closet. When they were done, they headed back downstairs.

Before long they were all settled down on the floor. Stormy was curled up in a corner with her boys, Darcy and Don close by with the girls and Musa had set up on the other side of the twins from Stormy. She laid awake for a long time before falling into a strangely deep sleep.

 **o0o**

When she woke up, she felt like she'd been asleep for days. Everything was hazy and she found herself confused when she saw she was in her basement with the witches and their families. It took her a few minutes to remember the events of the previous day.

"Ugh. What _happened_?" That was Darcy. She sounded just as dazed as Musa felt.

"I feel although I've just woken up from the _dead_." Don spoke next.

Musa instantly started checking to make sure she wasn't infected. Lucky for her she wasn't. None of them were. _Thank the Dragon._

"Where's aunt Stormy?" Raven questioned innocently.

All three adults immediately looked over to the corner where Stormy had been sleeping. She was gone. They all scanned the room, but before they could do anything more, they heard footsteps on the stairs.

"I'm right here guys." Stormy appeared at the bottom. "I had use the washroom."

"Oh. Well, next time warn us before you take off." Said Darcy.

"What does it look like outside?" Don asked.

"Uh, well, I kind of avoided the windows." Stormy replied, looking sheepish.

"Eh, no harm in that." said Musa. "Probably would have done the same."

"How did you even get out of your corner without waking the rest of us?" Don wondered.

"We were all out like dead people and I was the first one awake." She replied.

"Yeah. . . It was almost unnatural." Darcy agreed.

"Like someone spelled us." Musa added suspiciously.

Stormy walked over and sat herself down, before pulling out her phone. She frowned when she turned it on. "That's weird. No signal."

"Really?" Musa tried her own phone. "Same here."

"Seriously? Mine's not working either." Darcy added.

"Huh. Let's go upstairs. It might just be the basement." Don suggested.

"I phoned Jared from here last night. It was fine then." Stormy pointed out.

They all got up and cautiously headed up the stairs. What they were met with was something out of a nightmare, and they weren't even close to the city centre. The neighbourhood was silent. Nothing stirred except for the less than sane looking figures standing dazedly on the street. Debris blew in the breeze. There was a long crack on the windshield of Musa's car and blood splattered on the sidewalk.

Nobody spoke. Nobody knew what to say. They just stared outside in horror or tried to make their phones work, to no avail.

"It's no use." Stormy finally broke the silence. "Communications must down."

Darcy's eyes narrowed. "I have a feeling we've been asleep for more than just one night."

"That's impossible. . ." Musa trailed off. Who was she kidding? Once she had thought that Earth's zombie theory was impossible, or that befriending the trix was impossible. And now, both had occurred in a single month.

"What now?" She continued instead. "Communications are down. The only other way to reach Riven and Jared is magically."

". . .like with a crystal ball." Darcy suggested thoughtfully.

Musa sighed. "To bad we don't have one."

"We do. There's one in the shop." Said Darcy. "If it's still intact."

Musa perked up. "And headmaster Saladin has one to -"

"Mummy? I's hungry." Jaxon interrupted, pulling at Stormy's sleeve.

They were all hungry. The leftovers last night had barely been enough for all of them, so they all headed to the kitchen for breakfast. They made it quick.

Discussing a plan was hard. Nobody really wanted to venture outside, but everybody knew they had to at some point and it was better sooner than later. So the witches headed back home to pack their things, while Musa did the same with her and Riven's stuff. When she was done she grabbed the bags and headed across the street to meet the witches.

They were going to the shop, and chances were, they wouldn't be coming back. The city was a death sentence if it was over run with the infected.

Musa and Stormy trailed behind Darcy and Don in Jared's car and Stormy had insisted that Musa had to drive. Apparently, fitting comfortably into the driver's seat was becoming a challenge for the Storm witch in her current state. Musa wouldn't have had a problem with that if it wasn't for the fact she was becoming quite distracted by the, err. . . scenery.

The city was in shambles, and _that_ was putting it lightly. They had already passed several buildings that had been reduced to piles of charred rubble, and the ones that were still standing were beyond decrepit. Windows were shattered, chunks of wall were missing and so on. The streets were cracked and they had even seen a sinkhole or two. Cars were overturned. Bridges collapsed. There was blood, gore and infected citizens everywhere. Both Stormy and Musa were glad for the sleeping spell they had smartly put on all the kids before they left.

" you know. . . I'm starting to think Darcy was right when she said she thought we'd been asleep for more than one night." Stormy broke the silence.

"I'll say. It looks like this place has been abandoned for days." Musa agreed.

"You think we were spelled?"

"I don't know. It wouldn't make much sense. Why would they spell us and leave everyone else to wake up and leave the next day?" Musa wondered.

Stormy shrugged. "Maybe they're targeting us. Not _you_ necessarily, but us. My sisters and I made realms worth of enemies you know."

"But why take down an entire realm if they're just after you three?" Musa questioned.

"Not everyone out there is as sane as we are." Stormy pointed out. "And that's coming from me."

"True. . ."

 **o0o**

When they pulled up in front of the shop, Darcy and Don were already standing on the sidewalk, surrounded by several motionless, infected bodies. When the car stopped, Darcy motioned for them to hurry before glancing around through narrowed eyes. They wasted no time in climbing out of the car and walking up to their companions.

"My _God_. This could not have happened overnight!" Said Musa, by way of greeting. She motioned around to the abandoned cars and run-down buildings.

Don nodded. "I know. I wonder what happened to everybody. Surly they're not all infected."

"Enough small talk. This is dangerous. Don, you stay here and keep watch. Stormy, Musa and I will go in." Darcy said, taking charge.

There were nods of agreement all around. The three women turned and headed up to the door and Darcy pulled out a key and unlocked it. As they stepped through to the inside there was a shimmer of magic around them, like when you step through a magical barrier.

Darcy looked around contentedly. "Well, it looks like the protection spells we put up did their jobs." She said.

Stormy nodded. "I'll say. The place is practically untouched."

Her sister was right. Compared to the rest of the city, the interior of the shop was in perfect condition. Everything was as it had been last time she'd been here. Aside from the layer of dust and dirt on everything, it was completely intact. When they had stepped through the door, it was like stepping into another time. A piece of the past, perfectly preserved. A piece of a life that no longer existed.

Darcy closed her eyes. She had finally picked up her life and turned it around, escaped the dark abyss she had been born into as a child of the darkest coven to ever walk the realms of the magic dimension, and _this_ was how she was repaid? To have the world ending around her and everything she'd worked so hard to build for herself fall to ruins? To pay the price for the terrible deeds she had committed, when it should have been those who had raised her to do those deeds who were paying? But then, did _they_ really deserve to pay either? They to, were victims, raised to do evil, caught in the trap that had snared witches and warlocks for generations before them? The same trap that had been laid down by the Ancestresses themselves, who wanted people to carry out their plans after they were gone from the physical plain? But then, she wasn't the only one suffering. They were all stuck in the same boat, up the same creek -

"Darcy! What are we waiting for? A welcome party?" Musa called, breaking her out of her thoughts.

She blinked quickly. "Yeah, sorry, this way." She motioned for them to follow her and headed for a door in the back. She pulled it open cautiously, peaked inside and once she'd deemed it safe she stepped through and held the door for Stormy and Musa.

"There it is." She announced.

They walked across the room and stood around the table. Darcy brushed the dust off the crystal ball and then held her hand over top of it. Mist swirled within, and there was a long moment when they thought it wasn't going to work, before an image came into focus.

"YOU! I should have known it was you three behind this!"

Darcy cringed when she heard saladin's angry way of greeting. Behind her, Stormy face-palmed and mumbled something under her breath.

Darcy turned to Musa. "I think you should handle this."

Musa nodded and stepped forward. "Headmaster Saladin?"

She had to do a double take when she looked into the crystal ball. Saladin was not as she remembered him. His face was thin and pale and there were dark circles under his tired, grey eyes. He looked like he had aged a decade overnight.

"Musa? What are doing with _them?_ Are they holding you hostage?" He questioned.

Musa sighed. "No. It's kind of a long story, but believe me when I say they've changed."

Saladin raised his eyebrow, looking skeptical.

"We don't have time to recite the full story right now. We need to know if Riven and Jared are still there." Musa continued.

Saladin nodded. "They are. I'll call them up."

He disappeared for a moment and they could hear him talking in the background, before he reappeared. "Might I ask where you've been?" He questioned.

Musa blinked, confused. "What do you mean?"

"The morning after this went down, Riven and Jared went home to find you. They said you'd all talked the night before and planned to meet at home in the morning, but they couldn't find you. They were convinced you were dead."

Musa stared at him. " _What?"_

Stormy looked over her shoulder at the old man. "That's impossible. We were in Musa's basement the entire time."

Musa nodded in agreement. "She's right. _They_ told us to stay there. We never left."

"They said there was no sign of you." Saladin stated.

The three women glanced at each other. "Exactly how much time has passed since the shit hit the fan?" Darcy questioned, eyes narrowed.

"Over a week. To be honest, we all thought you were dead." Saladin replied.

"Over a _week!_ " Stormy almost shrieked.

Darcy clamped a hand over her sister's mouth and they all glanced at each other. "So I was right." She said simply. "Someone must have spelled us."

"What do you mean, spelled you?" Saladin questioned.

"That night, we went to sleep, but apparently we'd been asleep ever since, until we woke up this morning. It was strange, like we were waking up from dead." Musa explained.

Saladin's eyes widened. "You mean to say you were asleep in your basement this entire time?"

Musa nodded. "That's right."

"Where are you now?"

"In Darcy's shop. When Riven and Jared didn't show up, we tried to call them, but I guess communications are down because our phones weren't working. We came here to use her crystal ball." Musa supplied, right before two breathless young men burst through the door behind Saladin.

"Where have you _been_?" Riven exclaimed.

"Thank the Dragon! We thought you were dead!" Jared gasped.

Musa smiled. "It's a long story. We'll explain later -"

"Where are you? We'll come right away." Jared interrupted.

"We're in my shop, but don't bother coming here. The city is overrun with the infected. We can't stay here."

"We can bring you back here, to Red Fountain. It's safe here." Riven suggested.

Darcy shook her head. "I've got a better idea. We'll meet you at Icy's cabin. Jared knows the way. We need to find out what became of them. We can come up with a plan there."

"There is no road going out there. You'll have to hike. Stormy -" Jared pointed out.

Stormy was about to agree with him, but Musa silenced her. "Would rather go hiking than sit and wait in a death trap for you."

"Well, when you put it that way. . ." Stormy sighed, defeated.

"You are right, Jared, but unfortunately, so is Musa." Said Darcy. "If you come here and try to land your shuttle, it will attract the attention of every infected person in a ten mile radius. We can't risk it."

Riven nodded. "Not to mention uninfected people."

"What do you mean?" Asked Musa.

"We have heard rumours about survivors in the city. They have apparently formed groups and are not exactly friendly. We met some people who are sheltering here. They said that they were looting stores for supplies and that they got ambushed and whoever it was killed off half their group." Riven explained.

"Seriously?" Stormy said. "What are we waiting for? Let's get out of here!"

"Oh Dragon!" Darcy gasped. "We left Don alone with the kids!"

"Ok." Said Musa. "That's lovely. Meet us at Icy's. We gotta run."

Jared opened his mouth to reply, but Musa interrupted him. "Don't _worry_ , Jared. We'll take good care of Stormy." She said.

"Easier said than done." Jared replied, before they all said goodbye and signed off.

 **That's a wrap! Hope you enjoyed, and please review! It really helps to know what you think! Suggestions are welcome to you know!**

 **Until next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Losing The Future**

 **VIVILAVI: thank you so much! I'm so glad you like it. I'll work on the conveying of emotions for future chapters!**

 **Chapter 4: To Leave Behind Our Lives**

They pulled off the Highway and down a gravel road to an overgrown trailhead. The four adults got out and stood in silence, reminiscing on the past several years of their lives. Darcy had never imagined she would get married or have kids, she had been a horrible person after all. Stormy hadn't thought it possible for someone to actually love her, let alone want to spend the rest of their life with her. Don had always favoured witches to fairies but he hadn't expected to end up with one of the Trix. Musa remembered all the arguments her and Riven used to have back in school. She was almost surprised they'd finally started trusting each other properly, or that Riven had actually proposed to her.

"Well, I suppose we should get a move on." Darcy broke the silence.

They all started getting things organized. Musa and Darcy took the sleeping spell off the kids, while Don and Stormy pulled backpacks from the two cars.

"Mama? Where are we going?" Raven questioned, looking up at her mother.

Darcy had been expecting that. "We are going to see Aunty Icy and her family." She said, which wasn't a lie, she hoped.

Musa was casting feather light spells on all the backpacks, as it would make traveling more efficient. As she spelled one, Don would pass it to its owner while she did the next one. She had to smile at the cute little bags that belonged to the kids. Raven's was purple with swirly patterns all over it, and the twins had matching red ones with yellow lightning bolts on them.

Darcy put Dusk into her sling carrier and made sure she safe and secure before grabbing her own spelled backpack. They were ready.

 **o0o**

They'd been walking for just over an hour, and the forest was eerily quiet. No birds chirped in the trees. There were no small creatures darting about and no insects buzzing around wildflowers. There wasn't even a breeze. It was dreadfully unnerving, like time itself had stopped moving forward, like the world itself was holding its breath. Waiting. Wondering. What would come next? And what had come before? They didn't really know. It was still quite a mystery.

Musa looked around at their group. Witches. A wizard. A fairy. A baby and three little kids. People she never thought she'd ever end up with. Darcy and Don were in the lead, with the twins and Raven close behind, while herself, along with Stormy were bringing up the rear. It was clear the little kids were growing tired and Stormy too, was lagging behind a bit. She dropped her pace to walk beside the witch. She was clearly in need of a rest.

"I bet we could stop for bit if you need a break." She said.

"No. . . I'm okay. We need to keep going. We don't want to get stuck out here after dark." Stormy looked up at the sky. The sun was, indeed, beginning to sink.

"Definitely not. Although the kids look tired to. We could probably stop for a few minutes and still make it. -" Musa pointed out.

"Hey, you two! Your falling behind. What's the matter?" Darcy called, from up front.

"Do you think we could stop for a few minutes?" Musa called back.

"Yeah, I think we could manage that. Not for long though."

So when they reached a small clearing, they all sat in the grass for a short break. Don sipped some water from a bottle, before passing it to Darcy who then passed it on, to Raven. Stormy pulled her own bottle out from her backpack, which she shared with her boys. Musa of course pulled one out too and took a few sips.

"Ugh. My feet are killing me. We should have gotten the guys to just pick us up in their airship." Stormy groaned.

"To be honest, I don't think they would've found a clear place to land. The place was a mess." Said Musa.

"I hadn't thought of that -" Don started. He snapped his head to one side as a twig snapped - the first sound they'd heard that had nothing to do with them. "Watch out!"

They all jumped and whipped around to see two infected people along with one smaller one stumbling towards them. Don summoned his staff and fired a spell at them, only for it to dissipate when it made contact, leaving them unscathed.

"What the Hell!" He exclaimed, as he backed up a bit.

"They are immune to magic. We really should have acquired some weapons before we left the city." Said Darcy, as she lifted them telekinetically and through them against a tree one by one. They slumped to the ground one by one, in a tangle of limbs.

"Quick, let's go!" She called.

They all took off, herding the kids ahead of them down the path.

"Nice of you to mention they're immune!" Musa exclaimed.

"Never mind that!" Said Don. "How are they immune? They're only infected humans! It doesn't make sense!"

 **o0o**

Forty-five minutes later, as the sun was setting, they had finally made it to the lakeside cabin. The last stretch had been hectic - not only was the daylight fading, but they had had a few more run ins with infected people. Don ended up having to whack them over the head with his staff, as Darcy's telekinesis wasn't very effective in actually immobilizing them and Musa and Stormy were foolishly unarmed. They had been so focused on getting out of the city, that they had forgotten to find weapons, having been relying on magic, as Darcy had failed to mention her discovery while downtown with Stormy.

They stopped in front of cabin door and Darcy knocked. Musa looked around while they waited. The cabin itself was small, although it did have an upper floor. There was a stack of firewood with a blue tarp pulled over it and a stump with an axe stuck in it nearby. A clothes line, currently empty, was strung between the cabin and a tree. There was a vegetable garden, as well what appeared to be an herb garden, suggesting that a witch, must, in fact, live here.

At that moment, the door opened a crack, and a familiar face peaked out. Icy's jaw dropped and her eyes widened in shock. She pushed the door open wider.

" _Darcy?_ Guys? You're alive?"

The Ice witch threw her arms around Darcy, in a very un-Icy like manner, as far as Musa was concerned. Her and Stormy, who were still together at the back, exchanged a look.

"Uh, yes, very much so." Darcy said as she untangled herself from her older sister. She always found hugs awkward and Icy had never been the hugging type. She straightened and offered a relieved smile, having been silently worrying about her older sister since the whole thing had started.

Icy continued. "What _happened_ to you guys? We were certain you were dead!"

"It's. . . A long story." Don said. "We'll explain inside."

Icy nodded and moved to the side to let them in. She blinked when she saw Musa.

"Musa? What are you doing with them. . .where are Riven and Jared?" She said suddenly realizing the two guys were missing.

Musa stopped. "Wait, they were at Red Fountain. We were supposed to meet them here. They never showed up?"

Stormy nodded in agreement.

"No. . . Although it is a longer trek from there than the city." Icy said.

"It was only the two of them. They would have been making better time than us." Stormy pointed out. "They should have been here by now."

They exchanged worried looks before Icy led the way into the cabin. Musa looked around at the cozy interior. The Kitchen, Dining area and living area were all one big room. There didn't appear to be electricity and the lights seemed to run solely on magic. Because of this, there was no TV or any other electrical devices. A large stone fireplace sat against one wall - probably the primary heat source. Stairs rose along the opposite wall, leading up to the second floor, where Musa could see three closed doors.

There were two little girls sitting on the floor in the living area, playing, and Tritannus was in the kitchen working on dinner. Musa remembered that Icy had said she'd cast a spell on him to give him legs. As they walked in, all three inhabitants looked up. A look of shock flashed across Tritannus's face and the two girls, Winter and Snow, jumped up in excitement as Raven and the twins ran over the greet them.

Musa watched the five kids, so innocent and unaware of their new reality.

 **Thanks for reading! Please review - your thoughts mean so much to me!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Losing The Future**

 **So sorry for the long wait guys! I lost interest and was writing new story.**

 **Chapter 5: How To Run From Dead People**

Several weeks had passed since the world had come to a screeching halt and everything they had come to know had been cast into the wind like leaves in autumn. What had once been about which movie they were going to watch, or who was going to babysit the kids, or who would watch the shop, was now about surviving another day, where they would get their next meal, or, heaven forbid, where they would go if they had to leave the lakeside cabin.

The city was definitely not an option. That much was clear. It was nothing but a shell of it's former self, home to nothing but broken dreams. And the Infected. You could not, in any way, shape or form, disregard the Infected, because that, would most certainly spell your doom. Such things as being lazy, off guard or foolish did, no, _could_ not exist anymore. Not if you wanted to survive.

And Riven did. Very much.

That was why he was now wondering whether the earlier decisions were the best ones. Musa, Darcy, Jared and himself had returned to the city, the _abandoned_ city, for a supply run. They were running low on basically everything, so they didn't have much of a choice on that front. It was when they'd arrived in the city, that they'd been faced with a choice. Stay together, or split up. They had chosen to split up and now Riven was beginning to regret that choice. He was with Musa, and they had no communication with the others. They had no idea whether they were okay or whether they'd been torn apart by the infected. There was also the matter of the survivors. They had already been chased out of two stores by the resident, less than friendly survivors, which had left them running from the infected that had been drawn by the noise and wondering whether Darcy and Jared were having any better luck or if they had been slaughtered by angry survivors. Not that Darcy would go down that easily. She'd probably blast them to oblivion if they dared to come near her.

Riven checked his watch. They had less than two hours before they had to meet back at the trailhead for the hike home, and they hadn't managed to loot hardly anything. Fantastic.

 **o0o**

Night was the worst time of Magix' 24 hour days. Daytime was bad enough, but when darkness enveloped the land it only got that much worse. They could no longer see the things that lurked just beyond the clearing, the things that were probably gathering, preparing to attack the survivors that were turned into sitting ducks by the lack of light. And Well it was quite unlikely that those things actually had the brains to gather together to formulate and execute a plan, it was still what was running through Musa's mind, courtesy of her overactive imagination, as she lay awake in her sleeping bag in the living room.

Musa was quite sure that the strange noises she kept hearing were louder, and potentially closer, than they had been before. She found herself wishing it wasn't Tritannus's turn as night guard, as he was in the habit of falling asleep on the job, despite the dose of wide-awake potion the given night guard got. Darcy made a much better night guard, but then, being the witch of darkness, she was practically half nocturnal anyways.

Thump.

Musa jumped slightly. What _was_ that?

Crack. Snap. _Crunch_.

She was getting increasingly nervous at this point.

 _CRASH!_

What on earth? Musa jumped up out of bed at that, and scrambled across to the window, peering out into the darkness. She couldn't see a thing until the beam from the spotlight suddenly lit up the yard. She stumbled back in horror. Dozens upon dozens of the Infected were surrounding the small cabin, all stumbling around dazedly.

"Musa? What's the matter?" Stormy questioned, as she was woken by the noise.

Musa turned around, about to respond, when she was interrupted by footsteps pounding on the stairs as Tritannus appeared at the bottom, eyes wide. By this point, Musa could hear more footsteps as the others upstairs woke each other up. Riven and Jared both sat up, having been roused by the noise as well.

"What's going on?" Jared questioned, looking around at the panicked faces of his wife as well as Musa and Tritannus.

"We're surrounded." Said Tritannus solemnly.

"What!? Dude, you were supposed to be keeping watch!" Riven exclaimed as he ran to the window and peered out. "Oh shit! Where the hell did they all come from?!"

"They just started coming out of the woods!" Tritannus said.

More footsteps sounded on stairs and Icy appeared with Snow balanced on her hip and Winter stumbling behind her.

As they made it to the bottom, the ground lurched beneath them. Winter shrieked as she fell from the last step into her father's arms.

"What the hell was that!" Tritannus exclaimed.

"It felt like an earthquake." Said Jared, before he was cut off by pounding on the front door. "They're going to break the damn door in! We need to get out of here!"

"How? We set one toe out the door and we're are all as good as infected." Darcy said as she appeared at the bottom of the stairs with Dusk, Don and a half-asleep Raven.

"I don't know, but we can't stay here." Said Jared as he grabbed a pack from the closet and started stuffing things into it. The others followed suit as they realized they had little choice.

Chaos erupted around her as everyone started frantically gathering things and packing it in bags. Musa started rolling the sleeping bags that were splayed out on the floor and passing them to people before grabbing her own pack and gathering things she'd need. Musa could hardly tell what was what in the gloom. Eventually she just started blindly grabbing things and stuffing them in her bag. Someone threw a bottle of bug repellent at her, which she dropped in her bag, right before stuffing in a pullover. She whipped around as something hit her in the back of the head and found a tube of toothpaste lying on the floor. She picked it up and packed it to. As she did, the ground lurched again, this knocking a few trees down as a result and the door hinges creaked dangerously as the pounding continued.

Musa threw her backpack on and looked around, desperate for some order in the chaos.

"Ok. Jared and I will go first and try to clear a path!" Riven called. "Icy and Tritannus will follow with Snow. . . One of you will have to carry one of the twins. Musa, stay close to Stormy, do _not_ let her fall behind!"

Musa nodded and looked around in search of the storm witch. She spotted her standing with Jaxon, as Jared had joined Riven and Tritannus had taken Jace. She looked terrified, and Musa couldn't blame her. She was in no state to be running through the woods in what was practically a war zone at this point. Musa chewed her lip worriedly as she made her way over.

Riven continued. "Don and Darcy will be last with Dusk. . . Don can you carry Jaxon? Good. Don't let Musa and Stormy fall behind you! Keep Winter and Raven in the centre of the group at all times!" He looked around to make sure he was understood.

"Let's go, Jared!" He called.

As they ran out the back door, Don picked up Jaxon and rejoined his wife. They all ran out the door and cut across the yard, through the sea of infected people, which were now falling one after the other as Riven and Jared sword fought them out of the way.

Nothing seemed to make sense as they fled through the forest. Everything seemed hazy and nothing seemed real. They were already falling behind, of course they were. Stormy was pregnant and there was no way that she'd ever be able to keep up with the others, who were already almost out of sight. Darcy moved ahead, afraid Raven and Winter would get left alone as they were starting to fall behind the others as well. That left herself, Stormy and Don, who was carrying Jaxon.

The ground lurched again, more violently than before and Stormy stumbled. Musa grabbed her as more trees crashed down somewhere in the darkness. The earth opened up, swallowing trees and bushes whole, into a great black abyss. Someone screamed, but Musa couldn't see who in the endless darkness. She looked around frantically for her companions, fear crawling inside her and forming knots in her stomach. She stepped backwards and her foot caught on something and time and space seemed to become tangled as she found herself falling, falling. . . Into blackness. The last thing she saw was Stormy's face as fell into the crevasse above her, her mouth open in a silent scream.

 **Again, sorry about the wait. I got caught up writing a new story. It's a crossover between Once Upon a Time and The Worst Witch(1998), for those of you who are familiar with those shows. It isn't posted yet and I haven't come up with an official title, but basically Regina's twin daughters are raised in Wonderland by Cora, who abuses them terribly. They eventually escape and find themselves at Cackle's Academy. I was inspired by whiskey-lullaby's 'Clumsy'** _ **.**_ **Go and check it out!**

 **Hope you enjoyed and please review!**


End file.
